Happy Monday (or at least pretend to be happy, soon it’ll be over). Here are the top headlines in education news. Enjoy!

The Chicago Tribune reports that the cash-strapped Chicago Public Schools is racing to spend about $16 million in federal tutoring grants by the end of the summer to avoid losing the money in a program plagued by dwindling participation and financial missteps.

Education Reform for the Digital Era– Thomas B. Fordham Institute

In this report, experts examined how policymakers can make digital learning a tool to improve American education, gleaning insights from papers which they wrote to form the new book.

Congratulations, it’s another Friday. You’ve made it through a tiring, hectic work week and are now free to relax and kick back or party hard, whichever you prefer. But not just yet. Until the work day officially ends, you’re stuck here. You might as well take in some education news in the meantime.

The Wall Street Journal reports that some local Head Start programs for the first time will have to compete for a share of $7.6 billion in federal funding under a plan aimed at weeding out low-performing preschool centers.

From the Huffington Post a new bill could require young children to pass a test before ever entering kindergarten. Thousands of Tennessee children would be required to pass a “maturity test” every year to enter kindergarten under a new bill passed by the state House of Representatives Wednesday.

Happy Thursday, you’re almost at the weekend. Don’t fret, it’s coming. For now, get caught up with the latest education news headlines.

High school drop outs continue to be the focus here at the Alliance for Excellent Education and is drawing increasing attention from various media outlets. From PBS, learn how Shelbyville Indiana fixed its dropout problem with “Dropout Nation:’ Turnaround. Six years later, Shelbyville’s graduation rate jumped to 90 percent, but how did they turn things around?

Number of public schools at risk of closure in Philadelphia: 64

Philadelphia School District is nearly insolvent, lags behind most other urban districts in academics, and loses students to charters because parents believe it does not keep their children safe. So Chief Recovery Officer Thomas Knudsen announced a plan that would essentially blow up the district and start with a new structure.

Happy Wednesday, here are your latest education headlines. President Obama is drawing more attention to legislation that will double the interest rates of Stafford loans for college students in July. The bill would add an additional thousand dollars in expense for students who are looking to advancing their education. The President stopped by Late Night with Jim Fallon to voice his opposition in an unconventionally smooth way. President Barack Obama slow jams the news. Take a look at the video above!

From USA Today, There is increasing support to bring arts education back to public schools around the country, Particularly, politicians, business leaders, educators, artists and parents are making a big push to restore the arts to California public schools. And the Associated Press reports that celebrities such as Sarah Jessica Parker, Kerry Washington and Forest Whitaker are adopting some of the nation’s worst-performing schools and pledging to help the Obama administration turn them around by integrating arts education.

Good Monday Morning, but if you’re following the national forecasts, it’s probably not so good of a morning. After an unusual heat wave that had much of the nation experiencing above-average temperatures, old-man winter decided to have one more rendezvous with our winter coats. Bundle up, bring an umbrella, and don’t forget to get caught up on the latest education news of the day.

The Boston Globe that low-income school districts in Boston are most likely to place students in special education programs for mild and sometimes questionable disabilities, a practice that has swelled Massachusetts’s special education population to one of the highest levels in the nation. According to a study commissioned by the state, the finding debunks a long-held belief that it is the well-heeled parents in wealthier districts that have been pushing up special education rates as they demand advantages for their children.

Happy Friday!

Here are some quick stories to smoothly transition you from a busy work week to a stress-free weekend. Enjoy!

From National Public Radio– Alabama is near the bottom of the country’s academic rankings. The state has problems with test scores, school improvement ratings and dropouts. But the district in Birmingham has a different kind of issue. The state recently took over the school board because of infighting on the board. The move has triggered cries of racism.

Good Afternoon! Here are your latest headlines in education:

According to Education Week, most of the dozen states that have already gotten wiggle room from the No Child Left Behind Act don’t have very good plans in place when it comes to a key piece of the U.S. Department of Education’s requirements for turning around low-performing schools: extending learning time. This assessment comes from a new report by the Center for American Progress.

From the Washington Post, Washington D.C. Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson has introduced a new five-year plan that calls for higher-achieving public schools with longer days and better graduation rates, but she warned that paying for improvements will require closing some campuses.